Air-feeder



(No Model.)

C. A. KLOTZ.

AIE EEEDEE.

No. 390,129. Patented Sept. 25, 1888.

mmm-

NiTED/f STATES PATENT Ormea CHARLES AUGUST KLOTZ, OF VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA.

AIR-FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390.129, dated September 25, 1888.

Application filed April 10, 1888. Serial No. 270,173.

.To @ZZ whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, CHARLES AUeUsT KLOTZ, of Vallejo, in the county of Solano and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Feeders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in air-feeding devices for furnaces, and more particularly to steam-boiler furnaces for use on steam-launches and other vessels.

In steam-launches and similar small vessels the space for the accommodation of the furnace, boiler, and machinery is very limited, and hence it is necessary to render such machinery as compact as possible. It is also frequently necessary on small vessels to use smoke-stacks of small dimensions and depend upon auxiliary appliances for the production of sufficient draft through the fire-box to insure the proper combustion of the fuel.

It is the object of my present invention to provide a furnace with compact and efficient means for producing a draft through the lirebox.

A further object is to produce au air-feeding device for furnaces by means of which a current of air is caused to circulate through the fire-box and insure such draft with but slight pressure of air from a compressor.

A further object is to construct an air-feedin g device for -steamboiler furnaces to be used more particularly upon steamlaunches and similar vessels which occupy but little space, be adjustable to and from its operative position, and operate effectively through the medium of a small amount of machinery.

Vith these objects in view my invention consists in the peculiar construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a longitudinal sectional view of a steam-boiler furnace having my improvements applied thereto and also an air-compressor in communication therewith. Fig 2 isa front elevation (No mrdel.)

of the furnace. Fig. 3 is a top plan View of thejet mechanism. Fig. 4t is asection on the line a b of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detailed perspective of the collar p, showing the elongated opening; and Fig. 6 is a detached View of the valve.

A indicates a steam-boiler having waterspace B and heating-lines C. Two plates, a and b,of suitable material, are secured at one edge toaplate, a', supported slightly inwardly from the front wall of the furnace and at the' opposite edges to a perforated frame, D, which supports the tlues C, said plates ct b being one at the top and the other at the bottom of the frame, thus producing a lire-box,E. The space between the plates a and the front wall of the furnace forms one side of a water-jacket which surrounds the fire-box, another side of said water-jacket being formed between the lower end of the fire-box and the bottom of the furnace, while the boiler produces the remaining sides of said water-jacket.

The lire-box E is provided with a grate, F, ofany preferred form of construction, and preferably disposed at an angle, as shown in Fig. l, resting atits upper side upon an arm, (Z, of abracket, d', secured in the front of the furnace, and at its opposite side upon an upright bracket, G, located iu the fire-box near its rear end. The space beneath the grate will be utilized as an ash-pit, H, having its outlet through a door, I, presently described. The lire-box E will be furnished with the usual door, J.

The bracket G is provided at a suitable point above its base with a flange or shoulder, Z, for the support of one side of the grate F. This bracket is provided with a shoulder, m, above the flange Z, and extends in an opposite direction therefrom for the support of a series of fire-brick, Z, an uprightportion, n, extending upwardly from the shoulder m and serving as a back support for the fire-brick. It will therefore be seen that the bracket G serves the twofold purpose of producing a support for one side of the grate and also a fire-wall over which the heated air and products of combustion pass.

The brackets 'eZ' (preferably two or more in number) are each provided with an outwardly- IOO projecting arm, d, perforated for the reception of a rod, d, which carries the swinging door I. This door I, preferably made oi iron, extends downwardly from its support upon the rod d, and is bent or curved outwardly at its lower end, as shown at o, Fig. l. The door I. is held normally closed by means of a weight, i, upon the extremity of an arm, t', fixed to the end of the rod d. Extending over a portion ofthe waterj acket below the inlet to the ash-pit is a platform, J2, which, resting in an inclined position upon the bottom of the ashpan, communicates at its opposite end outside the furnace with au ash-pan, J', of any ordinary construction. By this construction in launches or other small vessels where there is but little room in which to work the operation of withdrawing the ashes from the ashpit is facilitated.

Between the bridge portion of the platform J'Z and the lower curved end, o, of the door I a space is left through which to inject air into the ash-pit beneath the grate from a jetnozzie, K. This jet-nozzleis located ou a section of pipe, L, closed at one end and connected at its opposite end by means of a hinge joint or coupling, L,with another pipe, L, this second pipe extending through a portion of the lirebonr or ash-pit and connected with an air'compresser, M, the air forced through the pipes L Lf" and jet-nozzle K being heated on its way from the compressor.

In order to produce a jet of air which, when injected into the ash-pit beneath the grate, will pass through the :fire on said grate uniformly throughout the entire area of the grate, I provide the nozzle with an elongated slit or opening, through which air is forced by the compressor M. This nozzle comprises a collar, p, preferably oblong in longitudinal section, placed between and secured to two sections of the pipe L, and a gate4 or valve, q, adapted to open and close the elongated slitin the collar p. rI he collar p is provided centrally upon its larger portion diamctrically opposite the elongated opening o with an internally-screwthreaded boss, gf, for the reception of a perle rated gland, q2. Passed through this gland g and through an aligned perforation in the col'- lar p is a valve-stem, p', having an operatingwheel on one end, and a flange, Q, is formed upon the stem p and bears upon the collar p. A packing-ring, r, is inserted between the flange and the gland q2 to prevent the escape of air.

The upper portion of the stem p is screwthreaded and adapted to take into the screw threaded perforation r' of a boss, r2, made integral with the valve q, preferably at its center. The wing or valve q may also be provided with llanges s s at opposite ends to bear against the ends of the collar p and insure a neat fit of the valve within the collar. The wall of the collar p is advisably thickened at one side of the slit or opening c and actsV as a bearing for the vertical flat back of the wing or valve (l, and upon which the latter may have a sliding movement. rIhe opposite face of the valve or wing q is made to incline upwardl y and to moet or nearly meet the back of the valve at its upper end, and thus produce a half-wedge, the upper sharp edge of which enters the opening to close the same.

By operating the screwstem p through its wheel p2 the wedge shaped valve or wing is caused to enter the opening o to close it, or recede therefrom to open it. It will be seen that by permitting this valve q to enter more or less into the opening o the size of said opening may be changed, and thus the amount of air to be injected into the ash-pit and through the fire may be regulated at will.

By reference to Fig. lit will be observed that the jetnozzle is supported a short distance from the opening under the door I of the ash-pit, so that when thc compressed air is forced through said jet into the ashpit there will be a tendency of outside air to also be carried into the ash-pit by suction, said suction being caused by the llowing in of the compressed ai r through the opening beneath said door I. By this means the air may be forced through the jet at a comparatively low pressure and the outside air utilized to a considerable extent in the production of the draft through the lire-box to enhance the combus' tion of the fuel ou the grate. It is therefore evident that the air-compressor by which the air-blast is partially produced may be ot' small dimensions and consequently occupy but little space, this being a very important item where economy ot' space is required, as in steamlaunches and other small vessels.

Slight changes might be made in the constructive details of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof 5 hence I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details of construction herein set forth; but,

I-Iaving fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isa

1. The combination,with a furnace, of a jetnozzle supported ashort distance from an open ing leading to the space below the grate and a compressor for forcing air through said jetzozzle, this air being heated during its passage to the nozzle, substantially as set forth.

2. The combinatiomwith a furnace, of a jetnozzle supported a short distance from an opening below the grate anda compressor for forcing air through said iet-nozzle, the pipes leading from the compressor to the jet-nozzle passing through a portion of the iire-box or ash-pit, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination,\vith a furnace, of a jetnozzle having an elongated opening, a valve or wing to regulate the size of said opening or close the same, and a compressor for forcing air through said `iet-nozzle, the pipes leading from the compressor to the jet-nozzle passing through a portion of the firesbox or ash-pit, substantially as set forth.

4. In a furnace, the combination, with a iire-box and ash-pit, of a suspended door to IOO IIO

adz 4 il partially close the entrance to the ash-pit, a j et-nozzle supported below the lower extremity of said door, and a compressor to force air through said opening and into the ash-pit, the pipes leading from the compressor to the jetnozzle passing through a portion of the rebox or ashpit, substantially as set forth.

5. In a furnace, the combination, with the ash-pit, of a suspended door to partially cover theentrance to the ash-pit and havingits lower extremity turned outwardly, a weight on the supporting-rod of the door to maintain the same in position,a jet-nozzle supported a short distance from an opening below the suspended door, and mechanism for forcing air through the jet-nozzle and into the ash-pit, substantially as set forth.

6. In a furnace, the combination, with the fire-box and ash-pit, of a bracket supported in the latter and carrying a fire-Wall and one side of a grate, brackets secured in the front wall of the furnace and carrying the opposite side of the grate, and a door supported over a portion of the entrance to the ash-pit, a jetnozzle supported below the door, and mechanism for forcing air through the jet-nozzle and into the ash-pit, substantially as set forth.

7. A jetnozzle consisting, essentially, of a collar or sleeve oval in crosssection and having an elongated opening, a Wedge shaped valve or wing to enter said opening from within the collar, and a stem attached to the valve for regulating the same, substantially as set forth.

8. Ajct-nozzle consisting, essentially, of a collar oval in cross-section, a Wedgeshaped valve or wing within said collar, one wall of the collar being thickened to produce a bearing for one side of the valve, a boss integral with said valve, a valve stem to turn Within the boss, a flange on the valve-stem in rear of the oval collar, and a wheel or handle on the stem by which to operate the valve, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES AUGUST KLO'IZ.

Witnesses: v

CHAs. L. REYNOLDS, H. L. HA LLIDAY. 

